DBAHO

I know who I'm going for at the Australian Open; (well you know since Miss Sharapova might not attend unfortunately) Ana Ivanovic

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Jan 1, 2006 -> 03:18 PM) It's usually always won by the cheating Aussie. Well you know there's a solution for that.

That's it season over, Mike McMahon and Koy Detmer, YOU SUCK. :finger

Philly leads Washington 20-17 at the end of the 3rd quarter. GO EAGLES!!!!!

You know what I'm most lookin forward to in this thread? Another Critic impersonation of one Sham-me Sosa.

Just looking at Taveras again, and against righties in 2005 he had splits of .312/.344/.351 while against lefties he only had splits of .233/.272/.314. So there is the option of platooning him, however Anderson didn't do well against lefties in his brief time up, but remember, that is WAY too short of a sample size to go on. Taveras's bad away splits though .252/.282/.289 are a bit worrying to say the least though.

Come back Woody!!!;

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Jan 1, 2006 -> 06:27 PM) Good for them. It won't hurt one bit to have Young start in Triple A. I am totally jealous of their farm system. Drew, Upton "Assuming he signs", Jackson, Quentin, Gonzalez and now Young. I guess I'll just have to settle for a World Championship. Mike Rizzo has done a hell of a job in the last few years as their head of scouting. He should definitely be a candidate for a GM position somewhere down the line. I'd expect them to take a lot of pitchers at the upcoming draft though. That team is going to have a hell of a young nucleus in 2007 though assuming that's when those guys are going to start playing everyday.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 1, 2006 -> 08:02 PM) I'm with you 100 percent on Taveras. Of course the OBP he had was about .326, but that should improve in the future depending on whether the Astros actually decide to bat him leadoff instead of Craig Biggio. He does need to improve his plate discipline in a big way though. You could go either way on Taveras. He could turn into a Juan Pierre (in his good seasons) and be better defensively, of he could just stay at the current level at where he is now.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 1, 2006 -> 08:11 PM) Bron is absolutely fantastic but he isnt and will never be close to MJ. It's too early to tell on that yet, although at this stage I probably agree with you. Let's see how Lebron goes when his team reaches the playoffs, and whether he can elevate his game and put in some Jordan-esque like performances. But things are looking quite good for the Cavs at the moment. Mike Brown looks like a pretty good hire for them at the moment. And they've got quite a bit of improvement still, Larry Hughes hasn't reached his A game yet, Donyell Marshall can probably play better, and they've got Sideshow Bob (Anderson Var.... something ) to come back off the bench, because if there's one thing they're weak at, it's quality re-inforcements off the pine.

16 hours late in fact.

Most improved player in the NBA? Gotta be Boris Diaw, a fantasy player's dream. In December, he averaged 12.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.3 blocks. How good does that Joe Johnson trade for the Suns look now? With their current system, if they can keep Mike D'Antoni coaching for a long time and Amare comes back healthy, they're going to be good for a long, long time.

QUOTE(AirScott @ Jan 1, 2006 -> 12:27 PM) I saw that too, they're actually 8th in total defense (yards allowed), but they give up about 127 on the ground per game, so that's just the way teams go at them, especially since Green Bay hasn't really held many leads to force opponents to pass against them this year. Jim Bates has done a very good job with that defense. Definitely one of the most underrated defensive co-ordinators in the NFL, and probably actually deserves a shot at a head coaching position.

Keep my 100% pass rate for my classes going.

Just a FWIW on Taveras. The guy had a .325 OBP in 2005 with a 103/25 K/BB ratio. Aaron Rowand in 2005 had a .329 OBP. Don't forget in 2005, Rowand was a main target of the Sox fans anger for not performing better then they should on offense. Basically from those 2, all Taveras offers you are some extra stolen bases. Anderson can be a Jacque Jones like player, and at the Cell he could probably hit at least 15-20 HR's for 2006. Sure he'll K a lot, but there's a reason KW kept him and traded Chris Young, they like him.

QUOTE(White Sox Josh @ Jan 1, 2006 -> 10:23 AM) What is the point of trading Contreras unless it is for an impact player? I mean honestly. I think having Contreras for 1 more season gives the Sox a better shot at repeating instead of having a Brandon McCarthy in the 5th spot. Let Contreras walk and in 2007 have Brandon be your 5th starter. If you can upgrade your bullpen when you currently have holes to fill in it, and get a top prospect or two in the deal, KW's probably gonna take that oppurtunity. We won't get 2 draft picks for Contreras if he bolts, so KW may want to get at least some compensation for him, and it opens up the payroll for some trade deadline acquisitions. The Sox have just got to decide whether or not it's better to keep Jose, or to trade him and possibly improve the bullpen and in the long - term.

And I like the old throwback jerseys better too;

QUOTE(Felix @ Jan 1, 2006 -> 08:42 AM) I think Oakland will win, but not Philadelphia I hope you're right, but I think the Raiders have just quit and won't put up much of a fight even if it is at home.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Dec 31, 2005 -> 10:53 PM) The sox could be set with Sean Tracey being the long man in the bullpen. He'll be given the shot in spring if a of a SP trade is made. I know some people like Tracey because he's got some good stuff, but I don't particularly feel confident having a guy who had a 4.07 ERA with a 106/76 K/BB ratio at a real pitchers park in our bullpen. I don't mind him battling it out for the position in ST, but the Sox should definitely bring in a couple of guys with MLC's, but they've already done that with Tim Redding.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 1, 2006 -> 12:47 AM) Thats nice Hawks, trade your Captin 30 games in...... Well at this point they might as just go dump Khabi and Aucoin and get as many good draft picks as they can.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2005 @ Dec 31, 2005 -> 05:36 PM) Well, the saying is still true. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR! Kobe got exactly what he wanted. He wanted to be "the man". Not so easy when you don't have Shaq commanding 80% of the defense. "But don't forget we can get a good rebounding oppurtunity when I have the ball!!!!" I actually hope Odom gets traded for Ron Artest. It'd be fun to watch Artest and Kobe try to beat the s*** out of each other. I give them 3 months.

This on Hirsh from John Sickels (best starter in Texas League) I don't mind Taveras being a part of a deal though, but he shouldn't be the main part. He's better defensively then Scott Podsednik, but needs to improve his OBP in a big way. Chris Burke could be someone who's interesting as well. Gives us a possible option at 2nd in the future, if we decide not to pick up Iguchi's option for 2007 (which at this stage would be very unlikely).

I'm sorry but Taveras for Contereas is insane when you have Brian Anderson. They'd have to offer at least a stud prospect, or someone like Chris Burke as well, to at least get KW thinking on this one.

I just saw the Smith tackle before on TV. Newman began the tackle before he went out of bounds, so I have absolutely no idea what Steve was thinking there. It could help prolong our season hopefully too.

QUOTE(Pauly8509CWS @ Dec 31, 2005 -> 06:06 PM) Leave Marty Lapointe off the list, he's doing his part and actually contributing. The other suckasses can go the hell home. Lapointe's making what $2.4M this season and for the next 2? I wouldn't be paying a guy who only has 18 points in 37 games with a -10 that much money, JMHO. I just don't think he fits that well in the new NHL. But at least it was good he called out his teammates a few games ago.